Impending Darkness: A Kingdom's Heart
by Novalon
Summary: An account of the personal thoughts of the games characters, ranging from crazed to heroic. *UPDATED* Chapter 4: A young man and a mouse battle the shadowy creatures of the Heartless! Will two masters of the keyblades be enough to win? Please R/R!
1. Chapter 1: Ambiguous Ansem

**__**

Impending Darkness

A Kingdom's Heart

By: Novalon

_Much of my life has been dedicated to pursuit of knowledge. That_

knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that. I am

blessed with people's smiles and respect.

But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand. I

believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the

chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have

witnessed it many times.

Darkness...

Darkness of the heart.

How is it born? How does it come to affect us so? As ruler of this

world, I must find the answers.

I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the

darkness.

Magnificent, truly a work that all needed to behold. My crowning achievement, a testament to all I had ever dreamed of.

Though I was considered to be one of possibly the purest of hearts, it was some time before even I, a leader of people would slowly slide my way to the "other side."

In the beginning, I was willing to save my world, but as time past, I became the one who would most likely end it's existence, at least as far as what it's inhabitants were concerned.

_Many a time it has been before I aligned with the darkness… but what was the cause of my… enlightenment?_

It was that fateful day that I had been tirelessly working on deciphering the innards of a recently passed away creature of the darkness. One of my loyal subjects had chosen an awkward time to interrupt him.

"Lord Ansem," the subject began, "have you found anything out yet?"

_Imbecile… the man had truly lived up to his father's legacy._

The sage sighed, "I have looked at this creature for three hours… and yet I cannot come up with anything remotely close to an idea on what it could possibly have to do with the recent disappearances of certain people…"

This man was too thickheaded, however, "It's my sister-in-law… Kairi. Rinoa's been worried sick since her little sister up and vanished out of the blue. Even I can't help but feel that you, as the brightest man on the planet, might have come to some sort of conclusion… anything that might make me feel better!"

"What about our greatest warrior? Surely you feel quite unnerved by the fact that our One-Winged Angel has seemingly gone MIA?"

True, the man known as Sephiroth, who was a godsend against anything that even tried to attack them… but even their light of hope had vanished as well. Fate willed the inexperienced to take up weapons and fight for the defense of their home, no matter how futile their attempt would be.

"I admit… I am a bit taken aback by his disappearance. And the fact the Cloud vanished soon after…"

His eyes lowered after that… Ansem could see that he was thinking about the sudden vanishing of his partner in combat.

"Do not fret, Squall… I'm sure you'll see the both of them again. And who knows? Perhaps they will come back with your wife's younger sister in tow? But for now, we need your strength and support… keep a clear head so you are ready for the moment the darkness decides to attack again."

_Pitiful. How could I steep to such a low as to reassure someone who did not understand the wonders of the darkness himself?_

"I'm sure that I…"

He was cut off by the sounds of a gun firing in the distance. The man instinctively reached for his odd-shaped blade next to him.

Ansem calmly spoke, "I'm sure that is our expert marksmen taking out another specimen for me. Why don't you go check on Sir Valentine to make sure he is indeed faring well?"

"Whatever… you say, Lord."

It was odd how Leonheart put an emphasis on that first word, almost as if he said it more often than he needed to.

_Some time later…_

It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is.

I shall conduct the following experiments:

Extract the darkness from a person's heart. Cultivate darkness in a

pure heart. Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.

The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including

those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment

produced no signs of recovery.

I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the

castle. Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest

sight.

Creatures that seemed born of darkness... What are they? Are they truly

sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their

hearts in my experiments?

"Lord Ansem…"

Leonheart again… how long had it been since they last talked?

"What is it?"

Squall coughed before he began, "We've begun plans for moving the population of the planet off to another world. All we need is your acknowledgement, and Dr. Cid can begin construction on his… odd ship…"

"I don't have time to worry about such trivial matters…"

The look of shock in Squall's eyes was enough for him to continue on with what he needed to say.

"But go ahead. Do know that if you all leave this planet, I will not be following you."

"My Lord…"

"Worry about yourselves… any sacrifice I will make is for the good of science."

It seemed to satisfy him… but it would be some time later that he would try again.

The shadows that crawl beneath the castle... Are they the people who

lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely

beyond my imagination?

All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is

that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will

unlock the mysteries of the heart. Fortunately, there is no shortage of

test samples.

They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They

still need a name.

Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless.

The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've

provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only

to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the

living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.

I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those

who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The

hearts taken by the heartless become Heartless themselves.

Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also

study their behavioral principles.

Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How

to communicate with them?

It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's

hearts?

Squall entered the room again, looking around in confusion.

"Lord Ansem…? We'll be leaving in a few yea-…"

However, the lab was empty.

"Now… I wonder where he went?"

_To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It_

wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the

castle.

In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if

searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never

known of its existence.

I had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. SO I opened the

door.

What I saw on the other side mystified me.

What was that powerful mass of energy. That night I observed a great

meteor shower in the sky.

Could it be related to the door that I have opened?

A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless.

It may be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy?

I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the

Heartless.

The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy

core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too--the heart of

this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I

am certain. That was the heart of the world.

The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living

creatures, but from the planet itself. But what do they mean to do with

the heart of the world?

He sat in his study as a young lady entered the room. A slight smile almost replaced his look of deep thought as she entered.

"Ms. Gainsborough, how nice to see you today… or I should say… this evening."

She clasped her hands in front of her, holding them slightly above her waist.

"Lord Ansem… may I ask why you are not joining us on the search for a new home… to get away from these… things?"

He chuckled, his slightly menacing laugh causing her to flinch.

"My dear lady, it's all for the pursuit of science! Do not think that these… animals… have any effect on me. Besides, the more I find out, the more I will know exactly how to get rid of these creatures from our home, you see? I don't want them spreading away from here, at the very least, I would hate it if you were followed while making your departure from the planet!"

She sighed at his words.

"I would miss you, my Lord."

He shook his head, "Do not fret… Dr. Cid will know what to do, I trust that he will lead you all in the correct direction."

"Thank you… Lord Ansem."

And she was gone, just as quickly as she entered.

Later that night, I walked outside, surveying a recent explosion seen off to the east. I left on a chocobo from the stables, saying nothing about it to the rest.

I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful

night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic

to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily.

None of the records even mention such a substance. Was it introduced

to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such

materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I

could soar off and find out!

Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to

grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now,

there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all

but prisoners of this tiny place.

After the material was thoroughly examined, it was handed to Dr. Cid, where he devised a way of using the "gummi" blocks to help with the structural integrity of his progressing ship.

I, on the other hand, began work on a machine that helped with the purpose of studying monsters without hearts. It was, in fact, a machine that created them…

Of course, this little tidbit would taint the very feelings my loyal subjects had for me, and I was nearly caught too.

I had just created one and marked it, studying it's every moves. It did not seem to be very enthused with trying to steal my heart, and I sensed that it was trying to find a way out of the closed room to reach that core I had last spoken of. Finding that it could not do that, it seemed to emit a sigh and plopped itself in front of the machine that had been the very tool in creating it.

But stupid Leonheart had to come in at the wrong time… he began yelling, warning me for my safety, and attacked the thing in a fit of rage. It dodged his attack, regarded him in an odd manner, and proceeded to scurry out the door in which he had entered.

"My, what a startling discovery…" I spoke, "it seems the beast had taken an interest in a machine I was building…"

"Lord Ansem, I really think you should go with us when Dr. Cid finishes with his ship…"

"Do you not understand, Squall?!" I blurted out, surprising him. "Are you so thickheaded as to not see what I am doing for all of you?! I'm studying these creatures… I'm staying behind so that they wont go after you when you leave! For God's sake… I'm making sure your lives are saved! Do not worry about me, for I am but one man, but worry about the lives of yourselves!"

Odd, I used to get in such a fury back when I followed the light. The darkness is soothing, and brings me a calmness I have not felt since my early life.

_ There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to the_

people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and

the mysteries shrouding the heart. As a start, I have built a device

that artificially creates Heartless.

By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I

should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the

culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run

successfully created a Heartless. This may be a step toward creating a

heart from nothing.

The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly

identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of

the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially.

It was one day when I came upon a very interesting person. He magically showed up in front of my door.

It was a very cheery creature, a small mouse. His name was Mickey and he happened to be a leader of his own people! We spoke for hours, especially about a mystical weapon… one that once I found out about it's existence, I knew I must have it!

_Simply astonishing! Today I had a guest from another world. He is a_

king, and his vessel is built of the material that composed the

meteors. He called the pieces "gummi blocks." It seemed that my opening

the door has opened a path to interworld travel.

We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my

interest: that of a key called the "Keyblade." The Keyblade is said to

hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world,

while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it.

I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be

connected to the door I have opened.

"Lord Ansem…"

The mouse king had long left, and the next visitor to come was none other than Dr. Cid.

"So nice to see you, good Doctor. Tell me… how does your interstellar ship fare?"

Cid smiled, "The goddamned thing flies like a beaut, Lord. Those gummi blocks are hella good when it comes to getting the job done! The Highwind has been commissioned and ready for takeoff! We're waiting on you, sir!"

I sighed, gazing upon him with a look of regality.

"I hope you know that this is a voyage that I cannot join you on…"

After all, at that time, I still followed the light, I was so determined to see if I could take the power or the planet for myself and use it against whatever was creating the evil so that the heartless would not be able to follow the gummi ship.

"What I am going to do, Cid… is I am going to save you all, by going to the 'heart' of all the evil… and destroying it by taking it's very power! I know from careful dissection and study that these creatures can only be killed in such a way!"

_ Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of_

stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its

heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born out of darkness in

people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart. 

He left… and I waited until all of them had departed from this world before I would try to use this way I devised of taking out the heartless.

Yes that's it.

I realized that as I walked towards the door, that perhaps I would be able to commit this act and save the people.

Or maybe not… because I truly found out what the beasts were…

__

The Heartless come from people's hearts, as does the darkness.

I began asking questions as I drew nearer to the large keyhole in the tower.

_Is the core of the world's heart the world of the Heartless?_

I knew what I had to do… for me to truly come to this place to learn the answer, I must find the Keyblade… and the princesses who the king said would open the heart of the universe to evil if they were all brought together by the force of darkness.

I will pursue the answer there and become all knowing. My path is set. I shall

seek out the wielder of the Keyblade, and the princesses.

The creatures reared up around me as my body began to undergo a transformation as I realized my purpose.

I wasn't here to save my people… I was here to destroy them.

_My body is too frail for such a journey, but I most do this._

Power, unimaginable power, and knowledge… I would become a God…

All will bow down before me.

_I will cast it off and plunge into the depths of darkness._

Such is the true way of the intelligent, only Dr. Cid would have been able to understand…

But since he did not… then he will join the rest of them when all is consumed by the impending darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Squall the Lionhearted

"Squall!"

He turned, gazing upon her face… watching as she was just within his grasp, the hordes of monsters closing in around him.

His sword had no effect. No matter how hard the strike, how wide the cut, no matter how much power he tried to use, the creatures could not perish so easily.

And he watched, as she slumped to the ground, the creatures feasting upon her body, and some large new evil rising up…

And he watched… as his whole world blacked out as the newest of Dr. Cid's inventions kicked in…

That was nearly ten years ago, however, he grimaced.

Since that day, he had began to reflect upon his life, cursing himself for being so stupid as to not save his wife from the evil.

The name Squall was dead to him, it represented a man who was powerless to face the evil… powerless to save his wife.

"Leon…"

He slowly turned towards the woman who called his voice.

She wore clothing that belonged more upon a girl that was still in the teen age. Yuffie, however, was not one to grow up so quickly, even though she had also faced much hardship in her life.

She was beautiful though…

Blasphemy! A curse upon Rinoa's memory! Surely, it would sadden her… to see her loving husband still among the life of the living, fall for her own best friend!

Her dark round eyes fluttered slightly, "Leon, did you catch the name of who won that last tournament?"

He nodded, "It was as I expected… the boy has learned to use his Keyblade well."

She nodded, "Yes… but did you see the name posted here? The guy he fought?"

Her finger was pointing at a name he did not expect. He traced his own hand across the letters to make sure that they were indeed written completely.

"Cloud?!"

Yuffie bounded up and down, "Could it really be him?! We need to find out!"

He pointed towards the arena gates.

"I suggest we go over there and ask the proprietor about him."

At that, she dashed towards the gigantic double doors, swinging them open with relative ease. Leon casually walked behind her, tapping his Gunblade on his shoulder.

"Hey Mister!"

Immediately, she set her sights upon the goat-like creature who was standing near the entrance to the massive arena.

The goat-man grinned, "The name's Phil! What can I do fer ya?!"

She bounded up and down, "I want to go see Cloud!"

This request caused Phil's eyes to bulge.

"What? You know Cloud?"

"Indeed…" began Leon, walking casually into the room, "we have had the pleasure of knowing him for most of our childhood lives."

"Ah!" yelled Phil, surprised at the sudden entrance.

"Well, it seems likely that you two guys know him… after all, you look like seasoned heroes to me! I mean, even the kid didn't look like it at first… but I know you guys gotta be good! You got the battle scars to prove it!"

"I'm no hero." Spat Leon. "A hero doesn't let his loved ones **die**."

Yuffie's eyes began tearing up, "Leon… it wasn't your fault…"

"And besides," nodded Phil, "every hero's got his bad days in life. You, sir, have the mark of something legendary! Even that sword isn't anything to scoff at. Face it, there's a hero in there somewhere!"

"Whatever…" he grimaced, "I just want to speak with Cloud."

The goat-man pointed to the door behind the wooden sign.

"Right that way. Just watch yourself… that guy's been moody ever since he showed up…"

Leon nodded, making his way past the sign with Yuffie in tow. As he came upon the ancient looking arena, he noticed a warrior wearing a tattered cloak swinging a massive sword.

The man's blond haired features gave way to light blue eyes. His gigantic sword was wrapped in some sort of material to give it extra power, or to perhaps keep it together longer.

As Leon approached, the blond haired man said nothing, just raising his sword.

And then he jumped…

Lust like they had seen Dr. Cid do the same thing when battling enemies with his spear, the exact same sort of height was reached by the warrior and his massive blade.

He struck down, missing his opponent, as Leon had already dodged the strike.

The Gunblade was drawn, and flames shot out at the one with the huge weapon.

Missing the hit, the two clashed swords as Yuffie could only watch in fear. Neither of them was gaining a distinct advantage…

Leon had great strength behind every swing he did, but this other man was possessed by something.

And all she could do was watch, until she called out to the blonde haired man.

"Cloud!"

They stopped. He slowly turned to her, his eyes gazing as if he were trying to remember something far off.

His lips moved slowly as the words came to him, "Yu… ffie? Yuffie?!"

She raced up to him, throwing her arms around him in a death grip.

"I thought you were dead! We had lost all hope! For days, Kairi asked where you went… just what happened to you?! Squall and I never would have guessed that you were here!"

He turned to Leon, "Squall? You're alive too? Well this is certainly an odd change of events… I guess I better tell you as much as I do know."

Pausing for a short breath and a recollection of his thoughts, Cloud began a watered down version of his tale.

"It was the day Sir Vincent Valentine's son was presumed MIA by Lord Ansem. I decided to take it upon myself to find my friend and mentor by searching around the area where he had taken off to."

He paused again, his voice starting to shake.

"There was this massive dark portal on the ground… it was like nothing I had ever seen before, and all these creatures were inside of it. Before I knew it… the thing was pulling me in… and to get out of that horrible hell…

I had to make a deal with the devil."

"Ya got that right, kiddo!"

The two turned, gazing upon a fiery blue man who seemed to appear out of no where.

"Guys, that is Hades, lord of the underworld. He caught me while I was falling into that abyss and told me that in order for my life to be saved, I had to fight for him in some sort of arena. Thinking that nothing could possibly save me from the hellish place of the creatures of darkness, I regretfully agreed…"

"Now if you excuse me… Herc's being a real pain in the rear end! I must be off!"

The god disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

"Wow," Leon cringed, "he's rather flaming…"

They chuckled before continuing.

"So, this is where I've been… so what about you guys?"

"Well…" began Leon, "the darkness took most of our loved ones and we barely escaped with our lives on Dr. Cid's gummi ship."

Cloud nodded, taking the information in slowly.

He then proceeded to go off on an odd tangent, as he was known to do quite often.

"By the way, Squall. Do you feel an odd presence in this arena?"

Now that was odd, he _did _feel something in this odd place. He could almost put his finger on it… the power was so familiar…

"It's our mentor… he's around here somewhere…"

"Master Sephiroth?!"

"Indeed, I have sensed his presence with every battle I have fought… he seems to be watching out over this hallowed area."

Leon's eyes grew wide, "Do you think we'll see him some day?"

"I can bet on it… who knows, maybe he can teach the kid with the key a thing or two…"

"Sora?"

Cloud grimaced, "That kid did a number on me… if I didn't have an argument with Hades about killing him, I probably would have been able to beat him."

"I think we can take him, Leon! You really gave him crap in Traverse Town!" exclaimed Yuffie.

"You don't understand, Yuffie. He's grown stronger since then… Cloud nearly got me here, and he was beaten by the kid. I think we're going to have some trouble…"

Cloud let out a laugh, "I got 500 munny that says he wins."

"We'll see about that! I'm going to sign us up with Phil right now!"

Yuffie ran off, leaving Leon to slowly shake his head in wonder.

"I swear, she'll be the death of me some day… whatever… I'm ready for that kid again."

"Just watch yourself, Squall. This kid isn't your average teenager. He's got some kind of magical power within him that I can't seem to touch… plus he learned my Sonic Blade technique. Your problem is going to be that he's going to be very fast… maybe even too fast for you. With every world that kid saves, he grows exponentially stronger… that's why I believe that I'll have 500 munny well earned."

And he couldn't have been more sure of the outcome either. Even though they had heroic status, that Leon and Yuffie were placed as the last fight of the Pegasus cup, when the kid came with his two friends in tow, they certainly did not look like the battles before them had worn them down.

The kid stepped up, silently regarding the two in front of him.

"Leon? Yuffie? It's a pleasure to see you in the arena! And it's time I took back whatever pride I lost from that beating you gave me, Leon!"

And he attacked in such a fervor that before Leon knew it, his own friend had been knocked unconscious.

Leon moved as fast as he could towards the child, but his attacks were much too slow to cause any real harm to the kid, and soon he found that he needed more power.

"Ugh… Sora, you're gonna get it now!"

His Gunblade grew to exponential heights, the spirit of the Lion imbuing itself into it. The Lionheart Gunblade cut wide swaths, causing damage to Sora's friends but still not coming close to the child.

Whenever he attacked from the air, Sora would always dodge his strike to the ground and leap to him with a combo. After this vicious cycle, Leon clutched his arm, falling to the ground as the massive Gunblade left the hand and lost the spirit used to power it.

"Hah! We're the champs!" yelled the boy triumphantly, as the dog-like creature with him twirled his shield and the duck tapped his staff on the ground.

And the wielder of the Gunblade passed out from his wounds.

It was after paying that 500 munny to Cloud that he realized he would have to win back his pride somehow. In some way, he would retain his lost glory and fight the kid once again.

And the only way he knew he could do it…

Was teaming up with the one swordsman he knew could do it… Cloud.

However, that battle was quite similar to the last one, as Cloud was stopped by some sort of Omnislash technique let loose by Sora. And the kid used pretty much the same techniques he did last time to beat him and his Lionheart as well.

Damn kid… he even gave Yuffie a couple scars to taint her beautiful features.

Was he falling in love with her? Hell yeah… it didn't mean he forgot about Rinoa, but he certainly wasn't going to let something so good slip through his fingers…

And one fateful day, after he had confessed his feelings for Yuffie and found that she felt the same way, he and Cloud were sitting in the stands conversing with each other and catching up on old times.

When out of the blue, they saw the teenage boy, Sora, walk out to the middle of the arena alone.

Cloud smiled, "Well, looks like your Keyblade master is back…"

I nodded, taking time to regard the boy as he spun around as a strange magical field surrounded the inner area of the arena.

"Looks like someone has it in for him… that field… it's too strong for us to break it. But… where have I felt that energy before…"

Cloud grimaced, "Dear lord… it couldn't be…"

They turned their heads to each other as the answer came to them.

"Master Sephiroth!"

As energy filled the arena, a lone figure could be seen coming out of the bright light…

A/N: w00t, it's a cliffhanger! Of course I'll make sure to make this next fight as detailed as I can from Sora's point of view!


	3. Chapter 3: Harvester of Sins and an alte...

Sora shook his head as the bright white light cleared, the symbols of summoning disappearing from the sky.

_What the hell?!_

What he saw next freaked him out.

The man's long silvery hair gave way to a long black trench coat and one angelic wing. He turned, showing his deep blue eyes and a long thin sword.

"What… I have to face a child?"

Sora took a step back, grasping his Ultima Weapon in a death grip.

"What is this…" the man looked up to the sky, "Just what is this, Zeus? This isn't the champion of Hades you told me about!"

He paused, reaching a hand out to the side and letting his wing stretch.

"So it's a different sort of champion that must be tested? So be it… perhaps he may actually provide some semblance of a challenge.

The silver haired warrior leapt forward, using his long blade to strike out at the kid. However, Sora rolled underneath the attack and dealt 4 quick strikes using his large keyblade, causing Sephiroth to disappear.

He looked around, unsure of himself.

"What? Was that it?"

He turned around just in time to see the man appear again with another thrust. He dodged out of the way as the man struck again.

This time, he deflected the technique and was greeted with a sneer from the man as he drew in powerful fire energies.

"Power of darkest flame, attack with fury… Fire pillar!"

Using his quickened skill with air currents, Sora pushed through the air at amazing speed to dodge the amass of magic.

He looked forward as the flames leapt up, while priming his keyblade for his next technique.

He reared back and tossed his keyblade through the flames, hitting his target.

"Strike!"

He tossed it again.

"Raid!"

And again…

"Raid!"

And finally, he let loose with a final powerful throw.

"Judgement!"

All strikes hit home, as Sephiroth stumbled back, using his sword for balance. He raced at the boy, executing 4 slashes of his own and causing the boy to leap back and cast his own magic.

As healing energies washed over the boy, the silver haired warrior's eyes gleamed as odd energies appeared in his hands.

Sora watched the hand motions and quickly readied his blade for another strike raid.

"Bloody magic, sate my thirst for the tainted soul! Sin Harvest!"

However, before the wielder of the Masamune could finish his spell, the Ultima Weapon slammed into him and caused him to lose focus.

"Damn child, you'll pay for that!"

He sneered, waiving his arms and creating a multitude of meteors that flew towards Sora. Thanks to his Dodge Roll technique that he had been perfecting since he learned it in Traverse Town, he was able to get by most of them except the final massive one that knocked him back, but left him still alive.

He muttered a quick curaga, rushing at Sephiroth, but before he could reach there, the warrior vanished and Sora sensed him at the other side of the arena and he quickly locked his sight on.

The hands were performing the motions for another Sin Harvest, and he didn't have enough magical energy left for another strike raid.

Sora gritted his teeth, leaping into a series of Dodge Rolls faster than humanly possible…

"Bloody Magic…"

Halfway there…

"Sate my thirst…"

Almost…

"For the tainted soul…"

Almost…

"Sin-"

Got him!

Sephiroth stumbled back, dazed, as Sora suddenly seemed to become empowered by his very weapon. He leapt into the air, words springing to his mouth.

"Ars Arcanum!!!"

He went through his own sword combo, hitting the silver haired warrior left and right, making him unable to counter. But instead of stopping the combo like he normally would, he started up another one, words coming to him once again.

"Most powerful of sword techniques! I call upon you with the fullest strength of my heart… empower my Keyblade! Omnislash!"

He let loose with Fifteen straight techniques, finally leaping up into the air and coming down with a diagonally projected Sonic Blade technique from there.

However, the strength of his heart could not let him stop. He launched into another combo as foreign words sprang to his lips.

"Renzokuken!"

Another flurry of techniques again… and then the Lionheart key chain flared up around his belt… yet another combo…

"Lionheart!"

Launching Sephiroth into the air with his techniques, he leapt up to continue them, and finally… the final blow resulted in the battered warrior falling back to the ground.

He leaned on his Masamune as Sora floated slowly back to the ground.

Coughing softly, he began, "It looks like you beat me… I'm impressed, no one has previously been able to perform such a feat before…"

He coughed again as a soft light fell on him.

"I have one final request before Zeus calls me back to Olympus to… punish me, I wager… I ask that you…"

He paused, shaking his head as if to clear his mind.

"You… Sora. That's who you are, isn't it? Look, no matter what my son does, I ask that you look out for him… it's not his fault. Be a good friend to him."

And he disappeared, just as strangely as he had appeared there.

But what did he mean… look out for his son? Who could possibly the son of whoever that man was?

"Who… was that?"

He felt the presence of someone else in the arena, and turned to see Cloud and Leon staring at him intently.

"The answer to your question is: Sephiroth… the former master of swordsmen."

Cloud shook his head, "Former, that is, until you came along…"

"But…"

Sora was having trouble thinking, having most of his energy gone from him after the fight.

"Who… could be that man's son? And why would he ask me to look out for him…"

Leon shrugged, "Maybe you know his son, perhaps?"

And suddenly it came to him…

Of course, the man obviously had a vantage point from somewhere beyond… he knew what was going on… he had to… the key was in his sentence…

_"It's not his fault…"_

His son did something wrong…

_"Be a good friend to him."_

And the person had recently been on his mind, especially after returning from Hollow Bastion…

The hair color… the eyes, even the sneer was the same… it was…

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A/N: And that's where I end it! Don't worry… said person in question is gonna have his own section of a story soon enough! Gimme your feedback, please! I love to read it! All the recent comments have been lovely, and I know you're gonna like what's coming up!


	4. Chapter 4: Shadow boxing

Just a little more…

I don't think I've ever pulled this hard before, perhaps my heart has given me a strength unlike any I've ever had.

The mouse behind me is doing his best as well, taking out those dark side creatures left and right… all while I close the only thing that takes them to the outside world.

Here I am, fighting in the oddest area I've ever seen, one that looked like such a haven from the outside… the door to Kingdom Hearts. On the other side, my best friend aids me in closing the door…

Just a little more…

"Hurry Sora!" I yell, "They're closing in!"

The door clicks and I grin in satisfaction, however my portal to the outside is now cut off.

I'm stuck here, with only the mouse as a friend… what an odd turn of events.

"Come on Riku! Let's do this!" Yells Mickey while fighting off a group of Darksides.

5 of the creatures known as invisibles fly up to me, causing my eyes to bulge in fear. I suck in the feeling, putting my hand to my side, where I used to keep my weapon…

The touch of metal welcomes my hand, I glance down to see that another Keyblade has found it's way to me. A faint lettering can be seen on it, and the one word sticks out in my mind as I unsheathe it.

_Masamune…_

The origin of the blade is unknown to me, however, I find it includes a strong holy power residing inside of it. It's almost as if it truly belonged to me… I feel some sort of kinship with it.

I furiously attack the nearest invisible, dispatching it with a quick combo, and I move on to the next with even greater speed.

Time slows around me as I pick up the pace, my Keyblade glowing white with holy power. Before I realize it, the invisibles are gone, to whatever realm of afterlife their stolen souls reside in…

I shudder, thinking about the darkness again, and how even I was not immune to it's icy grip. I turn to my mouse ally, to see how he is faring.

Not bad, the Darkside Heartless fall down swift before his mighty royal blade. Although one of such a small stature, his heart must be larger than 10 grown men. Mickey actually holds his own quite well, as do I… even though we sort of took a back seat in the adventure to stop the Heartless from taking over.

But they are still here, and more of them seem to appear…

I don't know if I'll ever be rid of them…

"King Mickey! How many more of them are there?!"

He turns his head to me, shaking his head, "An entire army, greater than the likes of even my own… it will take us quite a long time, but I am sure we will persevere. It's only a matter of time before all of them are stopped."

An army, eh? I thought about this for a second before realizing… for an army, isn't there a powerful superior to head them? A Heartless General perhaps?

Hours passed… perhaps even days…

I couldn't tell, it was all the same to me. When I was hungry, I'd take a bite into the magical rations the king had, and instant refreshment flowed through me, he seemed to have a never ending supply. He also was skilled with his magic, and could create a circle of power (that's a save point, in case you might not realize that) when he took a break from the Heartless in order for us to pitch tents and rest up (yes, I realize that those are old school save points).

Finally, we surveyed the area to find that many of the lesser creatures had been destroyed, but would slowly be replaced by more anew if we did not stop the two greater Heartless creatures.

So the hour of destiny was upon us… if we stopped the generals of the Heartless army, then our work would be finished.

At least, that's what I believed… Mickey was being entirely too secretive than he normally was.

"We will split up when we reach the forking paths, each of which leads to it's respective General…" the king stated, "Now you must realize that these bastards are going to be harder than anything we've previously fought, but they're no where near as powerful as… Ansem."

He spat the final name out rather angrily, a tone that did not fit with his voice well. He was obviously angry at Ansem's fall to darkness.

Frankly, I couldn't blame him… that man deserves every bit of hate that's coming to him.

I waved goodbye to the determined mouse as we finally parted ways to each of our separate destinies.

Upon reaching mine, a gasp erupted within me.

There stood a reasonable facsimile of myself… although he was more of the shadowy kind. However, he looked quite deadly…

In fact, he seemed to be the shadowy aftermath of my own plunge to darkness… almost as if he was some sort of copy. However, this being held with him two odd knife shaped weapons, which I believe were called Katal, and were also attached at his wrists.

My doppelganger grinned madly at me for a second before charging in at the attack. I barely brought my Masamune up to defend, but was surprised to find that it deflected his attacks with relative ease.

It looked like his power was not quite at full yet… raising an army must have been draining to him.

His mad cackling interrupted my thoughts as he leapt at me with feverous strikes from his small hand weapons. I grimaced, bringing my blade to meet them, finding that it was not quite good at defending against strikes from two separate weapons.

He took advantage of this by leaping back and chanting in a deep, demon possessed voice, "Ultimate fury… in the name of Kiros, I call upon you! Blood Pain!"

He leapt at me, swinging in a wild fury. I blocked as best as I could, but those I could not block were what counted in giving him the upper hand.

Once, I was slashed across the arm.

Once more across my solar plexus…

And one tore a gash near my left eye, across my cheek.

The stinging pain was incredible, the weapons seemed to have some white-hot demonic energy inside of them to cause so much damage.

I stepped back, determination in my eyes, praying to whoever was watching over me to grant me a boon… something, anything… in order to fight this maniac.

My wish… granted from what I believe was the power of my own heart. A second Keyblade appeared, and I reached out with my left hand, grasping it's hilt as words entered my mind.

_Murasame…_

The sister weapon to my other blade… fascinating, and yet I wondered if there was anything stronger out there… perhaps something I would receive later.

I attacked with my own sword combo, taking no heed to the blood dripping from me. His short weapons were no match for my longer Keyblades. In a matter of minutes, I turned the tide of the battle in my favor and left him on the ground bleeding out of nearly every area near his vital organs.

His sadistic grin left me with something to ponder as I proceeded to strike with the deathblow.

It never happened… he leapt through some sort of portal, not unlike the one I took to find myself with Maleficent.  


I swore under my breath, looking up to the sky as my vision blurred from the blood escaping me.

"Healing wind, cleanse the pain! Curaga!"

I felt replenished, somewhat, as I turned to King Mickey, who nodded to me as if to acknowledge that he had completed his task.

I, however, failed where he did not, and my enemy was still on the loose… perhaps to bring another army of heartless to terrorize the innocent. In a way, it reminded me of things I read in stories, the leader of a group of people who only wished to strike terror into the hearts of the innocent. Stories of masses of people being wiped out by the very tools they used for transportation, much like gummi ships, where they were slammed into large areas of commerce and subsequently exploded in order to deal pain… and most likely: death.

Terrorists, that's all they were. And I had failed to protect innocent people from the possibility of another outbreak of this sort of terrorism.

The mouse next to me shook his head, "Do not be too hard on yourself, young Riku. You still have much to learn if you think that one person can fully take out these monsters."

Wait… then why were we doing this? What was the mouse's reasoning behind this?

"Your friend, Sora, will prove to be quite a large help in the upcoming battle…"

"What? You mean what we've been trying to take out isn't ours to do alone?"

"Correct," he answered, "It does not take the work of one or two… or even three to completely stop the work of evil… no, such a small number would only deter it from happening. Perhaps you have been educated with the story of the _Final Fantasy_?"

Such a thing must have been ingenious to his planet only, I shook my head with a frown.

"Allow me to enlighten you then…" he spoke, his voice lowering.

"This story spans back countless generations, long before the Magic Kingdom ever existed on my planet. And the person who first brought this story to us, only vague descriptions are given… some say the man wore a cloak, pitch black as the night sky, with a single cross twinkling on the back of it like one of many stars. A hood covered his face… concealing him, but I digress…

It started with four warriors, on a world very far away from our own Solar system. Each of these warriors carried with them an orb, which was each their own proverbial guardian angel of each unique warrior. The one who lead them had fiery red hair, with equally colored clothing. He carried a magical blade… some say it was the legendary _Excalibur_ itself! Another of them was a man renowned in his abilities of quickness, a man shrouded in mystery, like a fabled ninja! The next were their two mages, who used opposing magic, white and black, much like our own, but some have speculated that the power described within the full story is more than anything we have ever seen before.

These warriors fought against a being known as Chaos, who plagued their world by grasping it within a time loop, causing the being to come from the future and go back to the past to plague the world, get defeated, and then return to power in order to return back to the past. It's quite a hard subject to grasp, I'm sure, but the warriors had to use a mystical flute in order to return to the place where the evil being resided, where they had to fight his fiends of the elements, whom they previously had fought and conquered before.

Well, when all was said and done, the four warriors ended up triumphing over the Chaotic beast of evil, but there is some speculation that he was merely brought down in order to rise up at a later date. He must have lost so much power, that he could not sustain his time loop, and thus the warriors were able to go back to a world that was better than anything they could have ever hoped for.

Now comes the part that causes me to believe that we will end up facing an evil much like we faced before. It's the fact that a paradox such as the one that occurred during the story causes evil to come back once again and assume it's place as those that dominate and cause terror to the weaker, innocent beings. Though there is reason to believe that the story of _Final Fantasy_ was a lesson taught to us in order to make sure that the same mistakes are not repeated, there is still the fact that something similar to it must have happened in this universe previously in order for something such as the Heartless to come to power and cause terror."

"But how do we know when this evil fully returns?" Interrupted Riku.

The king held up a finger, to enunciate his knowledge of the subject, "Ah, that in fact is quite simple. Things happen that shouldn't, such as night occurring when it should be daytime, or people suddenly acquiring the use of space travel, or stars disappearing from the nighttime sky. This, my friend, is what we call a _Prophetic Fallacy_, where fair is foul and foul is fair."

I listened to him intently, despite the foggy area or the filthy smell permeating from the dead.

"Besides, my young friend, we are going to follow your adversary… you were not meant to defeat him during your first battle, he was far too strong for either of us. However, you caused so much damage to him that with you growing stronger, I believe you will be the chosen one who shall truly adhere to the prophecy of the Keyblade."

His words were hard to make sense of, maybe it was the fact that I was tired, and a lingering pain still stayed with me despite the intensity of the curing spell.

I saw him move over to a sandy area and start to draw pictures on the ground with his index finger. It took me a moment before I realized what the pictures really were.

They were magical runes, he was doing some kind of high powered magic on this place…

"Mickey… what are you doing?" I asked, with a hint of fear in my voice.

"I'm finding us the Keyhole…"

Riku began to sweat, "The… Keyhole of Kingdom Hearts?"

"Indeed… if we seal this, then maybe the Heartless will truly be gone."

"Maybe?"

He nodded, "However, it's all a matter of speculation. The Heartless are said to be born from the darkness in the hearts of all beings, what's to say that this isn't the cause of their birth? What if this is just another goal to accomplish before beating them… what if… it only makes them stronger?"

I shook my head, "What if nothing happens?"

Mickey continued to draw more runes into the sand, causing a slight wind to pick up.

"I guess we'll find out what happens when it happens."

"True…" I answered, "But who knows what the true nature of the Heartless is… you told me that Kingdom Hearts may very well be the heart of the entire Universe… but what if it is just for the planets in our system? What if…"

"Riku… it is all speculation. Let us just complete what we came here to do."

He made a swirling network of lines in the runes before picking up a handful of sand and dumping it on them, causing the faint wind to become just short of a tropical hurricane.

All of a sudden, I saw it, appearing with the howling wind. The Keyhole making a sling outline against the black background behind it. It appeared with a slight shimmer, then suddenly the wind stopped, and all was silent except for a slight humming noise that the gigantic hole was making.

Mickey nodded, "I don't think a Keyhole of this size has ever been locked before. I think the both of us have the power to do this."

He motioned to the gigantic hole as I nodded.

"We must lock it, no matter what the consequences…"

"_It is not the sword that is evil, but only the person that wields it. Wield your sword, knowing fully what the consequences entail…"_

The same voice that told me the names of my twin blades is speaking to me once again. Though I do not know who it is, I can tell that it is an older voice, more likely that of a male. For some reason, I feel I can trust the voice… something inside of me tells me that it is somehow close to me…

"Riku… if we are to complete our business here, the deed must be done before the Keyhole returns to it's previous area! We must act now!"

I nodded, lifting up both of my blades and feeling a surge of power through me.

_Wield your sword_

I arced them upwards, as a bluish hue took upon them. The king followed my graceful movements with some of his own nimble swipes.

_Knowing fully_

I leapt towards the hole as the energy in my Keyblades intensified.

_What the consequences entail._

We struck as one, the blue energy wrapping around the hole and closing it with the resounding noise of that which has been locked.

The deed was done… and…

_"I knew you could do it, Riku, you truly were the one destined to use the blade of the key. However, your fight is only beginning. A portal is going to open at your position quite soon, allowing you to go to a planet called Earth."_

I turned to Mickey, seeing a similar expression on his face as I must have had on mine.

_"Another set of planets must be saved, another set of holes to lock. What you have done here is only the beginning, a similar warp hole will be opened and your friends notified…"_

The king reacted accordingly, although I was sure the message was playing in my mind. He must have been sent a similar message as well.

_"Beware, the Heartless had nearly a successful invasion if it was not for the havens that the planet's inhabitants constructed. Do not worry about the ship of gummi either, for a new vessel will be appropriated for you…_

Remember the name 'Calnus', it will be your tool for justice, and one, perhaps two 'Warriors of Light' will come to your aid. All that glitters is not always gold, look out for the false lights, and don't be so quick to stray from what seems to be dark, a book should never be judged merely by its cover.

If I had my way, I would join you, Riku. Alas, I can not, for the powers that be have set a limit of boundaries, and I am unable to overstep them… all I say is good luck… my son…"

The mouse regarded me oddly for a time, as a faint light began to glow in front of us.

"What ever brought this light to us… it called me… 'my son'."

Mickey nodded, "Perhaps it is the voice of your father wishing to protect you, his only progeny?"

It seemed so, I thought, as the portal grew in circumference to a reasonable size for a human being.

The mouse stepped forward, "See you on the other side Riku… we must heed the warning given to us."

I agreed, and leapt in with him, together we passed through the energies of the portal, not knowing what it was that we would be there to meet us.

_Author's Note: To commemorate the merging of Square and Enix in the near future, I decided to add the world of Star Ocean in as the destination (as you probably found out through the "Calnus" reference. As for TWO warriors of light… well, you'll just have to see what that's all about!_

To all my reviewers: Thank you for finding the time to show your encouragement of my first Kingdom Hearts fan fiction, and as I am a busy person I may not always have the time to update the story on a weekly, or even a monthly basis.

Perhaps I'll even dedicate a chapter to a very special person in my life… of course only one of my reviewers would know even remotely what I'm talking about…


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